A new commitment aimed at wiping out rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease has been set out in a correspondence piece published in The Lancet, a leading medical journal. The document, titled the Perth Declaration, sets elimination of both conditions as its goal, a target that public health specialists have long sought but that has remained out of reach for many of the communities most affected.
Rheumatic heart disease is estimated to affect about 55 million people around the world. It is linked to more than 370,000 deaths each year. It is also the most common acquired heart disease among people under 25, meaning that a condition which can be prevented is most often damaging the hearts of young people who are still in school, starting families or beginning their working lives.
The Lancet piece places particular emphasis on women and girls, who are affected in greater numbers than men and boys. The authors describe their needs as historically overlooked, a gap the declaration is intended to address by focusing attention on those groups within health planning and funding.
The disease persists largely because of social inequity, which determines who gets access to medical progress. The authors argue that rheumatic heart disease reflects an unequal distribution of the benefits of medicine, rather than a lack of knowledge about how to prevent it. Closing that gap, in their view, is central to any realistic path toward elimination.
Credit. Based on reporting for The Lancet. Is this your work? Write to us.
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